By MONTE DUTTON
I never saw Stephen Croone play in person, but I was a big fan.
While Croone was playing for the Paladins, I was, unbeknownst to me, winding down my NASCAR writing career. I had a false sense of security.
Other than the occasional blog, I didn’t do much writing about Furman, and most was about football. I watched Paladin basketball on TV. It was infrequent, but I was proud of what was being built. I just wasn’t engaged yet.
I’m glad Croone is headed to the school hall of fame. He was something special, even from a distance.
It’s the dawn of another new era.
In the absurd event of my having any say whatsoever, I would hire Bob Richey anywhere. He is dedicated, analytical, thoughtful and motivational. He doesn’t have a raucous sense of humor, but that’s a minor point.
Richey likes doing things his way, and he’s going to have to do it the way everyone else does in this time of change at the speed of light.
A program grounded in stability and loyalty is staring into that transfer-protocol storm of the Dr Pepper commercials.
If there’s a hard lesson to be learned here, it’s the difference between 28-8 and 17-16.
It already happened at Wofford. It happened before that at most places.
The chance of Richey going into a tailspin was nil. He and his staff know how to work hard and productively, and they’ve refilled the coffer.
They’re just going to have to shuffle their cards a bit more thoroughly than they’re used to.
The latest acquisitions are transfers Nick Anderson from Barry and Jalen Sullinger from Kent State.
Anderson joins the Paladins after a four-year career playing for former Paladin head coach Butch Estes at NCAA Division II Barry. The 6- 3 guard averaged 13.6 points, scored 1,235 career points, and shot .432 from three-point range. A native of Schereville, Ind., Anderson averaged 17.4 points last season.
“He possesses a special skill with his ability to shoot the basketball, matched with a high IQ for the game,” stated Richey. “We are excited for Nick to join us while he pursues a master’s degree from Furman University.”
Sullinger captured third-team All-MAC honors after averaging 15.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Golden Flashes. The 5- 10 guard shot .392 from three and reached the 20-point plateau seven times as a junior last season, including a trio of 30-point performances.
“Jalen has already competed in the NCAA Tournament and should immediately provide a scoring punch on the perimeter,” stated Richey. “He has already proven himself as an all-conference caliber player in the Mid-American Conference, and we expect him to impact our program greatly on and off the court.”
Sullinger, was MAC Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore in 2022-23
Both Anderson and Sullinger will have one year of eligibility at Furman.
A prolific scorer on the hardwood, legendary women’s soccer coach, All-America track star and the architect of one of Furman’s most successful programs make up the Furman University Athletic Hall of Fame Class.
Men’s basketball standout Stephen Croone, former women’s soccer coach Brian Lee, cross country and track star Troy Reeder and honorary inductee and benefactor Chris Borch will be inducted into the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame on a date, location, and time to be announced.
Croone, a three-time All-Southern Conference selection by the league’s head coaches, was a SoCon Player of the Year and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American as a senior in 2016 after guiding the Paladins to their first appearance in the SoCon Tournament finals in over a decade.
The Covington, Ga., native became the first Paladin to average 17 points per game in three consecutive seasons and since Jonathan Moore (1978-80). Croone led Furman in assists and steals in each of his four seasons while averaging 16.0 points per game over 177 career contests. His 40-point performance versus Liberty in December of 2014 marked the first by a Paladin since Roy Simpson accomplished the feat in 1972.
The inaugural head coach of the Furman women’s soccer program, Lee guided the Paladins for their first 11 seasons. He led Furman to five SoCon regular season titles, three SoCon Tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances while capturing SoCon Coach of the Year honors five times.
Lee, who posted a 144-80-10 (.637) overall record and 76-16-3 (.816) league mark at Furman, went on to successful stints as a head coach at both LSU and Rice.
A native of Fishers, Ind., Reeder became just the second first-team All-American in Furman men’s track and field history and the first since 1968 when he finished seventh in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the 2016 NCAA Championships. He remains the only Paladin men’s track and field athlete to win multiple first-team All-America citations after repeating the feat the following year when he placed 10th nationally in the event.
Borch began his Paladin career as a walk on for the Furman cross country/track and field team, rising through the ranks and eventually earning a modest scholarship. In 2005, he established the Blue Shoes XC/T&F scholarship fund, named for the pair of blue running shoes that Borch was given by then head coach Bill Keesling on his first day of practice as a Furman student. He has been the visionary and lead donor for the XC/T&F endowment, personally contributing over $10 million to Furman, including a $5 million gift in the fall of 2021.
With Borch’s gifts, along with those of others and investment growth, the endowment is on track to grow to $20 million, allowing the program’s scholarships to be funded off investment earnings.
No. 7 seed Western Carolina scored four runs in the first inning and scored at least one in each of the first four frames en route to an 8-6 victory over No. 6 seed Furman on the opening day of the Southern Conference Softball Championship on Wednesday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
With the victory, the Catamounts (17-33) advanced to the double elimination portion of the tournament. Furman finished its season at 24-30.
Furman mounted a rally in the sixth as Ansley Chiang and Chloe Fabio singled ahead of Charlotte Brooks’ RBI ground out to trim the deficit to 8-6. Makenzie Martin bounced back, however, to get Caitlin Goldwait on a grounder to end the sixth inning. She retired the Paladins in order in the seventh to close out the game.
Junior Lauralee Scott (7-6) absorbed the loss for the Paladins after allowing two runs on three hits in 1-1/3 innings in the circle. She followed starter Sierra Tufts, who gave up five runs on five hits in 1-2/3 innings of work. Emme Buzhardt kept the Paladins close by holding Western Carolina to one run over four innings of relief.
Lily Bell, Savannah Baldwin and Jeralynn Wells each registered two hits apiece to lead the Catamounts while Sydney Dirks batted in two runs. Chiang went 2/2 with a base on balls and two runs for Furman. Fabio notched two hits for the Paladins and Kiley Perry added a pair of RBI.
Furman claimed four event titles Tuesday during the final day of the 2024 Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Samford’s Shauna Yelton Field
Seniors Dylan Schubert and Cameron Ponder captured the men’s 1,500- and 5,000-meters, respectively, while senior Megan Marvin won the women’s 800-meters and junior Sierra Bower the women’s 5,000-meters.
The Paladin men posted a third-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time since 2021, compiling 100 points. The women’s team registered 92 total points for a fifth-place performance for the fifth consecutive time.
In total, Furman tallied eight individual championships over the two-day event.“I thought both programs had a great meet,” said Furman head coach Robert Gary. “It feels like it’s been a while since the men finished third. We did a good job of sweeping the distance events and having some depth. The women were led as usual by Megan Marvin, and Sierra Bower had a great race with some super team tactics.”
Host Samford captured both the men’s and women’s titles. The men totaled 217 points and the women 212.5.
Lily Feingold and Owen Shifflett are the Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Female and Male Freshmen of the Year.
The duo helped lead Furman earlier this week at the Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Feingold, a native of Mt. Pleasant, recorded two performances of second place or better in the women’s 5,000- and 10,000-meter races. She opened the conference meet by winning the 10,000-meters with a time of 36:55.66.
A native of Free Union, Va., Shifflett added two top-five finishes in the men’s 5,000- and 10-meter races.
Feingold becomes the fourth Furman runner to be selected SoCon Female Freshman of the Year, joining Heather VandeBrake (1993), Allie Buchalski (2015) and teammate Madelynne Cadeau (2022).
Shifflett is the third Paladin in program history on the men’s side to earn the SoCon Freshman of the Year citation, along with Aaron Templeton (2016) and teammate Matthew Smith (2022).
Decision time is approaching. What’s next? Do I keep doing it the way I am now? Do I amend this site? Do I continue to concentrate on local sports coverage, or do I change my priorities?
I’m thinking. I’m thinking.
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